Blogs about "having it all"?
July 6, 2011 4:35 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for thoughtful writing by women dealing with the challenges of trying to "have it all".
I would like to do some reading, ideally online, about the personal perspectives of women who have the aptitude and desire to pursue ambitious professional or academic careers but who also yearn for a stable, happy romantic relationship and want to have children. I'd like to read about how individual women work through the difficult decisions, both big and small, involved in juggling children and careers, dating and ambition. Are there any blogs like this? Excellent articles I should read? Online communities where this is a frequent topic of discussion?
I'm not looking for articles identifying "frazzled feminists were wrong when they thought they could have it all!" as the trend-of-the-month (which is what Google is mostly serving up). I'm looking for smart, ambitious women talking frankly about their personal thought processes as they faced or are facing these issues. This includes young women who may just be beginning to think along these lines and haven't made any sense of it yet.
I would like to do some reading, ideally online, about the personal perspectives of women who have the aptitude and desire to pursue ambitious professional or academic careers but who also yearn for a stable, happy romantic relationship and want to have children. I'd like to read about how individual women work through the difficult decisions, both big and small, involved in juggling children and careers, dating and ambition. Are there any blogs like this? Excellent articles I should read? Online communities where this is a frequent topic of discussion?
I'm not looking for articles identifying "frazzled feminists were wrong when they thought they could have it all!" as the trend-of-the-month (which is what Google is mostly serving up). I'm looking for smart, ambitious women talking frankly about their personal thought processes as they faced or are facing these issues. This includes young women who may just be beginning to think along these lines and haven't made any sense of it yet.
Recently in the NYT--Leslie Blodgett, CEO of Bare Escentuals.
I don't know that many people at her level blog, but the sort of pieces you're looking for are in Forbes, Financial Times (look at their Lunch With section and Mrs. Moneypenny column), Business section of the NYT, etc.
posted by Ideefixe at 4:39 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
I don't know that many people at her level blog, but the sort of pieces you're looking for are in Forbes, Financial Times (look at their Lunch With section and Mrs. Moneypenny column), Business section of the NYT, etc.
posted by Ideefixe at 4:39 PM on July 6, 2011 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Motherlode on the NYTimes just did a book club on a book you might like- TORN.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:40 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 4:40 PM on July 6, 2011
Penelope Trunk isn't everyone's cup of tea but she certainly tells it like it is for her.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:43 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by DarlingBri at 4:43 PM on July 6, 2011
This is a recurring topic in the science blogosphere, and you'll probably find some relevant blogs by clicking around the "Scientiae" blog carnival, which features only blogs by women scientists. Hopefully their stories translate to what you're looking for.
posted by easternblot at 4:49 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by easternblot at 4:49 PM on July 6, 2011
Best answer: You should check out the Wall Street Journal's The Juggle. It deals with exactly these topics.
posted by ilikemethisway at 5:49 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by ilikemethisway at 5:49 PM on July 6, 2011
I like The Juggle too but have gotten weary of the comments section, which has a cliquey, judgmental group of regulars who pollute the place and make it hard to parse out comments that are actually helpful.
posted by Sweetie Darling at 6:09 PM on July 6, 2011
posted by Sweetie Darling at 6:09 PM on July 6, 2011
You might be interested in the book More Than 85 Broads. It has personal accounts from, well, more than 85 professional women. It's been a while since I read it, but I remember it provided me with comfort at a point in my life when I felt overwhelmed.
There's also a network for professional women called 85 Broads. They used to have a magazine, although I'm not sure if they still do. Their site does have blogs on it.
posted by larkin123 at 7:51 PM on July 6, 2011
There's also a network for professional women called 85 Broads. They used to have a magazine, although I'm not sure if they still do. Their site does have blogs on it.
posted by larkin123 at 7:51 PM on July 6, 2011
Michelle Au's The Underwear Drawer was initially about life as a med student. There are a few articles about trying to balance medicine and motherhood and time for herself. She has a book out too.
posted by onegoodthing at 1:19 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by onegoodthing at 1:19 AM on July 7, 2011
Best answer: Dooce has actually written some about this too. It's not her main focus, obviously, but she has been pretty frank about some of the challenges and benefits as she grew the site and her 'brand' (for lack of a better word.) There was a huge project at the Washington Post called On Balance. It's over now, but the archives might be worth a visit.
posted by barnone at 2:53 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by barnone at 2:53 AM on July 7, 2011
The UK forum Mumsnet might be worth a look. I don't have kids but occasionally lurk on some of the less child-centred boards (it's often very funny and the style board is great) and there are often posts about this. It skews fairly middle class. Language is a bit salty if this matters to you.
posted by mippy at 6:43 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by mippy at 6:43 AM on July 7, 2011
Here's a blog that overlap with some of the mentioned topics, written by an incoming med school student in the inaugural class at a new medical school: And Thus, It Begins. (Disclaimer: The author and I are friends from our time in our respective Master's programs)
posted by ThyroidBob at 6:48 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by ThyroidBob at 6:48 AM on July 7, 2011
Katy Read's recent article in Salon addresses these exact topics.
posted by Ellemeno at 6:57 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by Ellemeno at 6:57 AM on July 7, 2011
Best answer: And here is Katy Read's blog, What I Should Be Doing Instead.
posted by Ellemeno at 7:02 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by Ellemeno at 7:02 AM on July 7, 2011
I really enjoyed this week's New Yorker piece on Sheryl Sandberg, the COO of Facebook. Her TED talk only touched on the issues of balancing everything, but did so in a really confident, positively prescriptive way.
posted by Mchelly at 7:15 AM on July 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Mchelly at 7:15 AM on July 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'm checking them all out and have highlighted a few that seem to have particularly the type of content I'm looking for.
posted by ootandaboot at 8:26 AM on July 7, 2011
posted by ootandaboot at 8:26 AM on July 7, 2011
Whimsy & Spice.
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:56 PM on July 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by The corpse in the library at 8:56 PM on July 7, 2011 [1 favorite]
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posted by mauvest at 4:38 PM on July 6, 2011